The Dos Passos Prize
for Literature has honored a host of celebrated authors including Graham
Greene, Tom Wolfe and Annie Proulx. This year, a University of Houston professor
joins the ranks of such distinguished writers.

Mat Johnson, associate
professor in UH’s Creative Writing Program, has been named the 2011 Dos Passos
Prize recipient. On Sept. 22, he will receive the award during a ceremony at
Longwood University in Farmville, Va.

Named for author John
Dos Passos, the award honors American authors whose mid-career works focus on
American themes and the human experience, while embracing an experimental
approach to literary form. The award has been presented annually since 1980 by
Longwood University’s department of English and Modern Languages.

“I feel very fortunate, and deeply
thankful to receive this recognition for my work,” Johnson said. “John Dos
Passos was a great author who has moved so many, and to be added to the list of
the accomplished authors who have won this award is a great honor.”

Johnson’s body of work includes graphic novels “Hellblazer:
Papa Midnite” (2005), “Incognegro” (2007) and “Dark Rain” (2010) for Vertigo,
an imprint of DC Comics. He also has written novels “Drop” (2000) and “Hunting
in Harlem” (2003), as well as a non-fiction work “The Great Negro Plot” (all
for Bloomsbury USA). His most recent novel “Pym” (Spiegel and Grau) was
released earlier this year to critical acclaim.

The New York Times applauded “Pym” for being “relentlessly
entertaining, and the Austin American Statesman referred to the novel as a
“magical spell.”

At UH, Johnson oversees the Graphic Novel Workshop, which
teaches students how to create illustrated narratives and offers insight on the
medium’s history.

“We are honored to recognize Mat Johnson for his many
significant contributions to American literature,” said David Magill, assistant
professor of English at Longwood and chair of this year's Dos Passos committee.
“Few writers are as provocative, yet entertaining, when it comes to addressing
the history and present state of racial identity and of race relations in the
United States.”

As part of UH’s English department, the Creative Writing
Program offers poets, fiction writers and non-fiction writers intensive
training in both creative writing and literary studies. It offers two graduate
degrees: the Master of Fine Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. CWP’s noted faculty
includes award-winning authors and poets such as Johnson, novelist Antonya
Nelson, poet and non-fiction writer Nick Flynn and poet Tony Hoagland. To learn
more about the program, visit www.class.uh.edu/cwp/.